It is far away from the four other large regions, and the Pokémon which inhabit Unova are diverse and different from those of Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, and Sinnoh. In his director's column, Junichi Masuda suggested that the geographical and social background for Unova draws inspiration from the New York City metropolitan area.[1][2] Although it is geographically based on New York City, it draws inspiration for its landmarks from the entire state of New York, which features a mixture of rural locations and urban areas as well as factory towns and industrial complexes.

Etymology and design concept

Etymology

Unova's Japanese name, イッシュ Isshu, is derived from the Japanese word for "one variety", 一種isshu, or １種類isshurui. According to the game director Masuda, this is to express that although the region is diverse in species and race, they are all the same as living creatures when seen from a distance.[3]

The region's English name likely comes from the Latin words unum (one) and nova (new). It may also be derived from united, considering its basis on the largest city in the United States. It also sounds like parts of the phrase United States ofAmerica.

Design concept

Although some of Unova is geographically based on New York, the creators of the region took some liberties in regards to the surrounding areas. One of the largest cities in Unova, Castelia City, is based on Lower Manhattan, but to the immediate north of Castelia is (as opposed to a continuing metropolis as in real life) a vast desert. Nimbasa City, which is to the north of Castelia City, could be a reference to Broadway, which is located in Manhattan. Nacrene City, with its restored storehouses, is reminiscent of the ubiquitous lofts in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The division of Unova may also be a reference to the Boroughs of New York City. The Skyarrow Bridge is a reference to the Brooklyn Bridge, which connects Brooklyn and Manhattan. The Battle Subway is a reference to the New York City Subway, which is the most extensive public transit system in the world, as well as one of the oldest.

History

Mythological events

In mythology, Unova was created by uniting the warring peoples of the land by twin heroes. They used a single dragon sometime more than 2500 years ago. The brothers started to argue over their beliefs; the elder brother sought truth and the younger brother sought ideals. Their arguments split the single dragon into Reshiram, who sided with the older brother, and Zekrom, who sided with the younger brother. Since they were both born from the same dragon neither could defeat the other and the brothers declared that there was no right side. However, eventually their sons continued the fight and both the dragons started to battle again, destroying the Unova region with their fire and lightning powers before disappearing.

Sometime after the original dragon had been split into Reshiram and Zekrom, one of the two brothers and their respective dragon created the Relic Castle, which was the seat of a new civilization for people and Pokémon.

Also at an unknown point in the distant past, a civil war broke out in Unova that caused an intense forest fire. The many Pokémon that lived in the forest became trapped, though luckily the Swords of Justice came in to save them—Terrakion moved away boulders that blocked their escape route, Virizion used its nimble movements to protect Pokémon from looming flames, and Cobalion led the scared Pokémon out of the forest. These Pokémon would later become responsible for ending the war before disappearing into myths.

According to Lacunosa Town legend, a long time ago, a large meteor came from the sky containing a terrifying monster. It was said that at night, the monster would appear in the town along with the cold winds and take away humans and Pokémon to eat them. The residents of the town surrounded Lacunosa Town in a wall to keep the monster out, and a rule was then set on the town that forbade anyone from leaving at night and encouraged people to stay in their homes. While residents no longer believe this old story, they still stay inside of their houses at night to this day. The legendary monster, Kyurem, was really a remaining third Pokémon created when the primordial dragon had split into two.

A legend says Thundurus and Tornadus once raced across Unova, tearing up the lands with their respective weather-controlling powers, not caring about settlements and creatures in their path. Landorus, seeing the massive destruction the pair had brought to the region and its inhabitants, is said to have punished them so that they would never repeat their actions.

Meloetta once entertained the people of Unova with song and dance, but when sorrow filled the hearts of people, Meloetta lost this melody and its red shoes.

Dated history

3,000 years prior to the events of Pokémon Black and White, the Relic items were created.

2,500 years prior to the events of Pokémon Black and White, the Relic Castle was flourishing and the Darmanitan in front of it went to sleep.

200 years prior to the events of Pokémon Black and White, an ultra-rich family purchased and named Liberty Garden.

200 years prior to the events of Pokémon Black and White, Village Bridge was constructed after the local river burst its banks, flooding the settlement that stood there previously.

100 years prior to the events of Pokémon Black and White, the warehouses of Nacrene City were constructed.

Contemporary history

Pokémon Black and White

Unova in Black and White

In contemporary history, a present containing three starter Pokémon—one each for Cheren, Bianca, and Hilda/Hilbert—was sent to Hilda/Hilbert's house in Nuvema Town by Professor Juniper on their mothers' request, so that they could each start their Pokémon journeys through the Unova region, challenging each of Unova's eight Gyms in order to collect Badges and eventually reach the Pokémon League. During their travels, Hilda/Hilbert met and battled with the members of Team Plasma many times, including their king, N, and encountered the mysterious Shadow Triad, with events coming to a head at Dragonspiral Tower, where N managed to capture one of the members of the Tao trio and invited Hilda/Hilbert to face him after they had beaten the Pokémon League and resurrected the complementary dragon from the Light StoneB/Dark StoneW. On retrieving the appropriate stone from Nacrene Museum and defeating the Elite Four, Hilda/Hilbert reached the Champion's room, where N was waiting for them, having just defeated the Champion. N then summoned his castle, which rose out of the earth surrounding the Pokémon League; Team Plasma had been working tirelessly for years prior to build the fortress around the Pokémon League right under their nose, overworking the Pokémon gifted to them by Trainers they had emotionally manipulated into doing so for this purpose. N then invites Hilda/Hilbert into the castle to battle him in order to test the strength of their convictions.

On entering the castle, Hilda/Hilbert are ambushed by all of the Seven Sages (except Ghetsis), who planned to defeat them so that their king's reign would be unopposed. Fortunately, Bianca arrived, bringing all the Gym Leaders of the region that she was able find with her (which includes all of them except for Chili, Cress, and Cilan, whom Bianca claimed she could not contact in time). The Gym Leaders then opted to engage the Seven Sages in battle on Hilda/Hilbert's behalf, so that they were able to ascend through the castle and defeat N. Eventually, Hilda/Hilbert reached Team Plasma's King in the throne room, where N summoned his member of the Tao trio, who subsequently came crashing through the farthest wall of the room. The presence of ReshiramW/ZekromB then activated the player's dormant stone, which emerged from the Bag and transformed into its counterpart, ZekromW/ReshiramB. The latter then allowed Hilda/Hilbert to attempt to capture them and after doing so, Hilda/Hilbert proceeded to defeat N in the ensuing battle.

N's loss to his opponent caused Ghetsis to storm into the room in rage, insisting that N was a complete failure and a freak and revealing his true motivation for Team Plasma. By separating all other Pokémon from their Trainers, while Team Plasma retained their own, he, as leader of the group (acting through N), would have been left in a position of power from which he could have dominated the world. However, his delusions of grandeur were cut short by his defeat in a final Pokémon battle at the hands of Hilda/Hilbert followed by his arrest.

N, however, was not arrested and subsequently flew from the land on ReshiramW/ZekromB in order to do some soul searching in light of Ghetsis's revelations. He was not seen again in Unova, but there is a rumor that someone with a strong resemblance to N was spotted somewhere in a far-off region. Hilda/Hilbert then continued the rest of their journey, managing to also cover eastern Unova, (becoming the first person to successfully operate the Poké Transfer), locate and aid in the arrest of the remaining Seven Sages and eventually defeat the Pokémon League Champion themselves.

Between Pokémon Black and White and Pokémon Black 2 and White 2

During the two years between the events of Pokémon Black and White and Pokémon Black 2 and White 2, construction of the road between Castelia City and Nimbasa City through the desert was either completed and a small settlement was established on this roadB2, or abandoned after ancient ruins were discovered in the sand and excavatedW2. The gate between Route 4 and Nimbasa City was expanded into Join Avenue. The construction in the south of Driftveil City was completed, with the Pokémon World Tournament taking the place of the Cold Storage. The Entralink's moat was drained or dried up, and a different type of Entree now grows in the center. A section was taken out of a mountain to the east, with Lentimas Town built in the new space.

Significant construction occurred in Undella Town, with the Riches moving away (except for the father) and their house being demolished; in its place, many new villas were built. In this construction effort, the mountain was dug away to the point where construction workers dug an entrance into Reversal Mountain. In addition, the Marine Tube was constructed between Undella Town and Humilau City.

Just before Ghetsis freezes Nate/Rosa alive with Kyurem's Glaciate, N flies in on Reshiram/Zekrom, saving him/her. However, Ghetsis uses Kyurem's power to turn Reshiram/Zekrom back into an orb, then uses the DNA Splicers to fuse it with Kyurem, turning it into BlackB2/WhiteW2 Kyurem. Nate/Rosa knocks out Kyurem, causing the two Dragon-type Pokémon to separate, then defeats an enraged Ghetsis. Thankful, N suggests that Nate/Rosa proceed to the Pokémon League. Heeding his words, Nate/Rosa ascend Victory Road, defeats the Elite Four, and emerges victorious in battle with the new Champion, Iris.

After returning home, Hugh's sister thanks the player for helping her big brother, and tells Nate/Rosa that she has been dreaming of a Zoroark calling Nate/Rosa's name. At Hugh's suggestion, Nate/Rosa returns to Victory Road, finding a Zoroark that leads him/her to the ruins of N's Castle, where N and Reshiram/Zekrom challenge them to battle. After being defeated, N says goodbye to his dragon and releases it by asking it to turn back into an orb to give to Nate/Rosa. Nate/Rosa climbs to the top of Dragonspiral Tower, and faces ReshiramW2/ZekromB2 again, this time, in an attempt to capture it. After this is done, N returns and tells the player that Kyurem has reawakened. With this, Nate/Rosa heads to the Giant Chasm again, catches Kyurem in its normal form, and recovers the lost DNA Splicers.

Cities, routes, and other locations

Demographics

The Unova region has a total population of 949 including all the towns, cities and areas.

Bridges and tunnels

Driftveil Drawbridge, as seen in the anime

Given that Unova is spread across three strips of land divided by two rivers, a number of bridges and an underwater tunnel exist to allow free movement across the region. Each of them has its own characteristic features and are even popular tourist attractions; they are:

Battle Clubs are facilities owned by Don Georges. There are many Battle Clubs across the Unova region. They have various features including a gymnasium, swimming pool to train Pokémon, and computers that display Trainer information.

Eindoak Town is the setting for the fourteenthmovie. It is the ancestral home of the "People of the Vale." During the battle tournament held for the village's Harvest Festival, Ash befriends Victini, a rare Pokémon that inhabits Eindoak Town.

Nimbasa Town is located south of Nimbasa City. Ash mistakes the town for Nimbasa City at first when he asks where the Gym is until Luke explains that they're two different places. Nimbasa Town is where Ash and his friends take part in the Club Battle Tournament.

Rainbow Valley exists somewhere along Route 4. Cottonee gather at Rainbow Valley after finding their partner, riding on what is known as the "Diamond Breeze" while holding hands in order to get there. Ash and his friends visit Rainbow Valley after helping a Cottonee win over a love interest.

Mentioned only

Routes

Unlike previous regions, Unova's routes do not follow the same numbering system, with a jump to 301, but are numbered 1-23, paralleling the Kanto region's numbering system and emphasizing Unova's dissociation from the previous four regions.

In the anime, it is also far enough away from Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, and Sinnoh that travelling to or from the region required either via airplane (as Ash and Delia did to arrive in Unova) or by ship (as evidenced by the return journey), the latter also requiring passage through the Decolore Islands to reach Kanto.

Geography

Unova is divided by two rivers that lead into an ocean to the south of it. These rivers cannot be surfed on, with the exception of the river directly below Village Bridge. It divides Unova into central and eastern peninsulas and a western landmass. These three landmasses are connected by five bridges, the Skyarrow Bridge, the Driftveil Drawbridge, the Tubeline Bridge, Marvelous Bridge, and the Village Bridge. The eastern part of Unova is further divided by mountains that makes a southeast part and northeast part. The southeastern part is important to Trainers who want to compete in the Pokémon league since two Gyms are located there, but the northeastern part is not since there are no Gyms there and it mostly has tourism, as evidenced by the amount of people speaking foreign languages. Further away from this bundle of towns is where the Pokémon League is located. Interestingly, the northeastern part is the only place in the region to find Pokémon species foreign to Unova outside of Swarms. The central peninsula of Unova consists of two of the largest cities in the Pokémon world, Castelia City and Nimbasa City, as well as Opelucid City further north, all of which contain Gyms. Every bridge in Unova connects to the central part of the region from either the east or west. The western side contains medium-sized towns and more varied landscapes but it also has three Gyms there, making it another destination to visit for any Pokémon Trainer.

Unova is a mixture of urban and rural land. The region features 21 settlements which reflect the diversity of the region. Many cities have buildings that resemble real-world buildings, such as Striaton City and Castelia City. However, some cities remain the way buildings in the past do, such as Humilau City, which has mostly wooden buildings on platforms above the ocean. Castelia City, a sprawling metropolis, is one of the largest cities in the Pokémon world. Nuvema Town, which is inhabited by the Pokémon expert Professor Juniper, is smaller and quieter. Black City is a version-exclusive city found only in Pokémon Black. Unova's landscape also features several forests (one of which, White Forest, is also version-exclusive), a desert, a magnetic cave and areas where the move Dive can be used outside of battle. Although Unova appears in some ways more technologically advanced than the previous regions, this development is not spread across the whole of the region. There are several aesthetic differences in the region depending on the version; in Pokémon White and White 2, these changes make the geography more rural looking, while in Pokémon Black and Black 2, these changes are more technological in appearance.

Climate

The climate of Unova, unlike other regions, solely depends on the time of the year.

Unlike previous regions, where climatic change was experienced locally (that is to say, some routes would always feature snow, and some routes would always feature rain), Unova is susceptible to national seasonal change. Spring, summer, autumn, and winter each last approximately thirty days, and recur three times each within a year. Each season brings with it different weather patterns, unlocks different events, and presents altered Pokémon availabilities.

Unova is the only main series region which does not use a romanization of the Japanese name as its English name, and the only region whose name is different among all translations of the games.

Except Black City and White Forest, all English names of cities and towns in Unova come from different types of cloud or cloud phenomena. Likewise, except Black City and White Forest, all Japanese names of cities and towns in Unova come from traditional patterns.

See also

References

↑"This new region was inspired by New York's Manhattan. I visited New York when Diamond and Pearl launched and I had the chance to wander around the town. When I walked through the streets, I saw a lot of different people having festivals and community events—Italian people, French people—they're coming from different countries and coexisting in one community", Junichi Masuda, Official Nintendo Magazine Issue 65 page 30.